Pharex, Ascof hope to shore up semis bids

Sister teams Pharex B Complex and Ascof Lagundi aim to clinch important victories that would shore up their respective bids in the 2010 PBL PG Flex-Erase Placenta Cup when they face separate opponents on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Pharex faces dangerous AddMix in the 2 p.m. first game with the Fighting Maroons looking for their fourth straight win that would secure for them the first semifinals berth.

On the other hand, pre-season favorite Ascof faces another do-or-die showdown against Fern-C at 4 p.m. The Cough Busters, who have the of the Pharex Medics team that finished second to Oracle Residences in the last conference, are struggling early in the season-opening tournament and have only won twice in the five games they played. The Aboy Castro-coached Pharex crew is currently tied for the lead with Excelroof and Cossack Blue at 4-1 and another victory would boost its drive for one of the top two seats that enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the cross-over semifinals. Pharex is fresh from a 96-66 drubbing of Cossack where the Maroons played aggressively the entire contest that disrupted the Vodka Spirits’ game. Castro hopes the energy displayed by his players in their last game would carry over when they face the Transformers, who are battling for survival in the eight-team league. AddMix coach Leo Austria is coming off a huge 90-49 rout of Ani-FCA last Saturday to gain the needed confidence for the team’s final two assignments. “The win kept us in contention and we have equal chance of advancing because our last two games will be against Pharex and Cossack, teams which are in the upper half of the standings. If we win we might make it to the semifinals," said Austria. There will be no playoff in the tournament and ties will be broken down using the quotient system. Jan Colina, Lester Alvarez and Gio Ciriacruz will lead the Transformers’ charge as they face the challenge of an equally talented Pharex side that boasts of Vic Manuel, Arvin Bragansa and veteran Nestor David. Ascof, meanwhile, will also try to follow up its inspiring 74-71 triumph over Cobra Energy Drink on Tuesday. Defense will again be the focal point of Ascof coach Carlo Tan as his wards try to limit Fern-C’s main offensive weapon John Wilson, who is currently the leagues best scorer. Wilson has scored more than 30 points in three of the Ferntastics’ five games and is again expected to carry the offensive load for Fern-C, which is hoping to win its second game in the season opening PBL conference. – GMANews.TV